Johnny POV

Johnny walked out of the hospital feeling much better than he had in days. It took him an hour to sneak into Miguel's room, but seeing the kid awake was worth it. Other than some stiffness in his legs that would go away with time, the kid was fine. Johnny breathed a sigh of relief before pulling out his phone. He had a call to make.

Daniel POV

He must've fallen asleep, because he had four missed calls from Amanda and two from Johnny. He shot up, a spike of panic shooting through his body. With a glance at Robby to make sure he's asleep, Daniel hurries out of the room and calls his wife.

"Daniel, thank God! I've been trying to reach you for hours!"

"I know, sorry," Daniel replies. "Is everything ok? What happened?"

"It's better than ok Daniel, Miguel woke up." Amanda says, her excitement obvious in her voice.

Daniel gasps in surprise and utter relief as he leans against the wall for support.

"He's ok," Amanda continued, "Not paralyzed."

"That's really good," Daniel muttered, still not believing their luck.

"Yeah," Amanda sighed, then asked in a softer voice, "How's Robby?"

"I don't know honey. I think I pushed him too far," Daniel admitted.

"What happened?"

"I convinced him to spar with me to help him get over his fear, but things got out of hand and he freaked out." Daniel rubbed his hand over face, pausing slightly before muttering, "I don't know what to do."

"Daniel, I know you think karate can fix any kind of inner turmoil, but I have a feeling Robby needs a break from karate and the memories it brings," Amanda said softly, hoping her husband recognizes the truth in her words.

Daniel let out a heavy sigh. "You may be right. I love you honey."

"I love you too," Amanda replied, taking a moment to thank the heavens for Miguel's recovery.

Daniel hung up the phone with a sigh of immense relief at the news Amanda gave him. Miguel was stable, and as he selfishly realized, Robby wasn't a murderer. He felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders as opened the door to their hotel room, eager to tell Robby the news. To be honest, he had no idea how the kid would react. He could live his life knowing he had not taken another's, but on the other hand, Miguel not dying meant the possibility of having to face his mistakes. Daniel didn't know if the kid was ready for that, but he sure as hell would be there for him when he did.

Robby winced as he sat up and noticed his tightly wrapped arm. The bright light from the bedside lamp momentarily blinded him. It all came rushing back, how he almost hurt Mr. LaRusso the same way he hurt Miguel. His eyes welled up at the thought of the disastrous school fight. He hadn't meant to hurt anyone, but something about Miguel had made him suddenly furious about everything in his crappy life, and his split-second decision to take his anger out on Miguel had just cost him everything.

"Hey buddy, how're you feeling?" Mr. LaRusso spoke softly, interrupting Robby's whirlwind of thought. He felt the bed dip where Daniel sat down beside him.

"Been better," Robby croaked, and Mr. LaRusso passed him the glass of water on the bedside drawer.

"I'm sorry—" they both started and looked down. Daniel spoke first, "I didn't mean to push you that far, and I promise to listen to you in the future when you have doubts." Robby nodded mutely, accepting the apology.

"I don't know why I freaked out like that, it just all got to be too much," Robby admitted, his fingers fidgeting with the soft blanket in his lap.

"Believe me Robby, I get that," Daniel said

"How? You've never made a mistake this bad," Robby brought his legs close to his chest and curled up against the bedpost.

"Maybe not, but I did do something terrible to Mr. Miyagi and hurt the people who cared about me," Daniel stood up and ran a hand through his hair as Robby sharply looked up at him. He took a deep breath before continuing, "I was angry at Mr. Miyagi for not letting me compete in the tournament to defend my title. I lost sight of what he'd taught me and decided to take matters into my own hands. I trained with a terrible man, Terry Silver, who turned me into something I never thought I could become. I broke someone's noise and a priceless bonsai tree and worst of all, I lost Mr. Miyagi's trust." Daniel sighed before sitting close to Robby, "I messed up big time, but Mr. Miyagi was there to help. That's all I'm trying to do for you, you just need to let me," Daniel put a hand on Robby's shoulder as he relaxed and looked up at his mentor's hopeful face.

"I don't know how," Robby exhaled, biting his lip. He didn't know why Mr. LaRusso kept helping him, but he also knew that he'd take the support where he could get it. He didn't see a way out, but Mr. L did and that was enough. He vowed to never stop trying, if not for his own sake, then for Mr. LaRusso's.

"I have an idea for that actually. Mr. Miyagi once told me 'no breath, no life' and taught me a focusing exercise that I think could help you," Daniel stood up, eyes bright and hand outstretched to Robby. "What do you say?"

Remembering his vow, Robby agreed and followed him out of the small room into garden. Robby had always loved gardens; the smell of flowers and the bright green leaves could calm him down and leave him feeling peaceful and content. Those feelings were in short supply for the past year, and he let out a small smile at the unfamiliar feeling of enjoying the small things in life. Taking note of Robby's liking to the garden, Daniel instructed him to take a deep breath and stand with his legs shoulder-width apart. He showed him the smooth motions of the exercise, deeply inhaling when he brought his hands closer to his chest and exhaling when he pushed them out. Robby copied his actions and found the monotony of the exercise to be quite calming. He felt the tension leaving his muscles as he focused on the sound of his breathing amidst the constant buzz of the crickets.

"Just like that Robby, you're doing great," Daniel encouraged before licking his lips and taking a deep breath. "I have some good news for you," he said, watching Robby's face for any change in his serene expression. "Miguel's awake." As expected, Robby's eyes flew open as he turned to face Daniel.

"What?" he uttered almost fearfully, eyes roaming Daniel's face for any sign of a lie or joke.

"He's not dead or paralyzed or anything," Daniel said, gripping Robby's shoulders. "He's ok."

"I don't understand," Robby stuttered. "I-I kicked him off a railing and he f-fell." His hands tightly gripped Daniel as he tried to ground himself. His heart raced at the thought of a positive outcome for once in his life, but he couldn't believe it.

"Amanda called me while you were asleep," Daniel rambled, hoping to quell Robby's panic. "She found out from Johnny and went to check at the hospital. He's ok Robby, I promise."

"My dad was there?" Robby asked, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to make sense of this sudden onslaught of change and feelings.

"He wanted to be with you, but I told him I'd look after you here while he kept an eye on everything back home," Daniel said, surprised at his civility towards his supposed "mortal enemy". Robby had the same feeling as he stared at Daniel, mouth slightly open in shock. He closed his eyes, shaking his head as he bowed his head. It seemed too good to be true, and in his experience, those things never lasted. He thought back to sleepless nights waiting up for his mom, only to find she'd checked herself out of rehab and gotten back together with some guy or another. He remembered empty promises of getting to meet his father and having a real, normal family. He remembered scoring high marks on his gifted test in school and not being allowed to transfer to the good school, because the bus couldn't reach him in his rundown neighborhood, and no one cared enough to drive him there. His whole life, the little luck he received always lost to the overwhelming evils of the world. He trusted Mr. LaRusso though, and he ignored the part of him screaming to run and hide in favor of the battered spark of hope that had somehow survived his disastrous life.

"He's ok?" Robby mumbled, voice breaking at the end.

"He's ok," Daniel reassured him as he drew Robby into a tight hug. "He's ok."